ESOL & WORKPLACE ENGLISH
The ELEVATE Programme — English, Life, Employment, Vocational and Training Essentials. City & Guilds Assured.
English that works at work.
Most English courses teach the language. ELEVATE teaches the job. Learners practise English in the situations that actually decide whether they get hired and stay hired — the interview, the team briefing, the phone call, the safety instruction, the awkward conversation with a supervisor.
It is a workplace-English provision built by Humanise Solutions, quality assured under City & Guilds Assured, and delivered in two levels so learners can start where they are and progress.
THE PROBLEM WE BUILT IT TO SOLVE
Adult learners across the UK tell us the same thing: classroom English does not transfer to the workplace. They learn grammar and vocabulary in isolation, then freeze in an interview, stay silent in a team meeting, or nod through a health and safety briefing they have not fully understood.
That gap is expensive. It keeps capable people in low-paid, insecure work — or out of work entirely. ELEVATE closes it by teaching English through the working situations our learners tell us they need most.
TWO LEVELS, ONE PROGRESSION ROUTE
ELEVATE FOUNDATION
Level: Entry Level 1–2 / CEFR A1–A2
For: learners with basic spoken and written English but limited workplace-specific language
By the end, learners can:
- Introduce themselves and answer common interview questions with confidence
- Recognise workplace hazard signs and report a problem clearly
- Ask for help and clarify instructions
- Read a work schedule and communicate about timing and attendance
- Use respectful, inclusive language at work
ELEVATE ENHANCED
Level: Entry Level 3 / CEFR B1
For: For: learners who have completed Foundation or can demonstrate equivalent competence — people already in entry-level work and ready to grow into more demanding roles
By the end, learners can:
- Answer behavioural interview questions using a structured technique with evidence
- Adjust tone and register for a manager, a peer or a customer
- Lead or chair a short online meeting and write a professional follow-up
- Carry out and document a basic risk assessment in English
- Give constructive feedback and handle minor conflict professionally
An initial assessment at induction confirms the level each learner is working at, so nobody is placed on the wrong programme.
what the programme covers
Twelve modules per level, each built around a real working situation rather than a grammar point. Themes include:
- Job interviews
- Everyday workplace communication
- Telephone and online communication
- Health, safety and working safely
- Teamwork, problem solving and time management
- Respect at work, workplace behaviour and confidence
Foundation builds the language. Enhanced builds the judgement — the same themes, handled at a higher stake.
The full scheme of work, module objectives, lesson plans and assessment materials are shared with commissioning partners under our programme documentation pack. They are the intellectual property of Humanise Solutions.
WHO IT IS FOR
- Adults (18+) seeking employment or already in entry-level work
- Refugees, asylum seekers and migrants integrating into the UK labour market
- Career returners whose first language is not English
- Jobcentre Plus claimants referred by a DWP Work Coach to build workplace English
HOW IT IS DELIVERED
- Delivery: tutor-led classroom sessions, supported by structured self-study. Online only where circumstances require it.
- Cohort size: 6–12 learners, small enough that everybody speaks in every session.
- Duration: 8–10 weeks, depending on the hours scheduled each day.
- Guided learning hours: approximately 72 across the programme.
- Assessment: formative and confidence-building, knowledge checks, tutor observation and a learner journal. No high-stakes exam.
We do not put a nervous learner in front of a test that will confirm what they already fear. Progress is evidenced continuously and reviewed with the learner, so the record of achievement is real and the experience is not frightening.
QUALITY ASSURANCE YOU CAN AUDIT
ELEVATE is quality assured under City & Guilds Assured and governed by the Humanise Solutions corporate policy suite. Quality assurance is led directly by the Chief Executive Officer through a documented four-stage process — design, review, validation and sign-off — rather than a simulated multi-reviewer model. Accountability is clear and it is named.
The following policies apply to every cohort: Safeguarding & Prevent; Equality, Diversity & Inclusion; Health & Safety; Data Protection & Privacy (UK GDPR); Complaints, Appeals & Feedback; Anti-Bribery & Corruption; Whistleblowing; and our Accountability Framework.
FOR COMMISSIONERS
We deliver ELEVATE for DWP, Jobcentre Plus, local authorities, combined authorities and employers. What you get alongside the teaching:
- A named programme lead accountable for your cohort
- Initial assessment and placement at the correct level
- Attendance registers and progress reporting on your reporting cycle
- Evidence of outcomes mapped to the programme objectives
- Reasonable adjustments and access arrangements as standard, not on request
- A clear progression route from Foundation to Enhanced, and onward into our employability and young adult provision
Cohorts can be commissioned as a standalone provision or built into a wider employability contract. If your outcome requirements do not match the standard shape, we will design something that does.
Coventry, Warwickshire, Wolverhampton, Worcester and across the West Midlands.